


dead in the water

by recklessiris



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-03-28 05:49:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13897611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/recklessiris/pseuds/recklessiris
Summary: Nanase Haruka has been living on land for three years now and is finally getting the hang of being human. That is, before the aquarium he works at opens a mermaid exhibit.





	1. one.

Harkua’s hands smelt like the iced flounder and cod that he had just fed to the Beluga whales, and as much as he loved the cetaceans, he felt like he could never wash the scent of dead fish off of his hands. That might’ve been partly a fault of his own, as he mainly dined on mackerel, but the beluga’s meals certainly weren’t helping either.

 

Sighing, he stood up from his place by the edge of the pool, picking up the metal bucket that was now empty except for ice that was quickly turning into water. People had crowded around to watch the animals feed but they were slowly filtering away, attention drawn to other exhibits. Another group was coming in to see the belugas, who were still feeling active from the excitement of feeding time. 

 

Haru walked down the stairs that led behind the exhibit and into the room where the meals were prepared. He set down the bucket where it would be picked up by someone else and refilled before washing his hands in a huge, industrial sink. For getting rid of the smell of fish, it was in vain, but he didn’t want to be transferring anything foreign to other exhibits.

 

The aquarium was a nice job, at least while he was in college. His parents had insisted on taking him out of the ocean when he turned seventeen and putting him in a human high school before promptly fucking off to ‘see all the world’s beauty’ or something like that. His still had his grandmother though, and he preferred living with her over his own parents, even if she was human. She accepted him and tried to learn and understand as much as she could. 

 

He missed being in the sea all the time, but he had grown to appreciate the land as well. There was beauty here that could not be sustained in the depths of the ocean, and over the course of his three years on dry soil, he had learned to adapt. He still missed the water terribly, but he was allowed to visit whenever he pleased.

 

He had just finished washing his hands when he heard someone not-so-subtly bounding up next to him. Even if he didn’t make so much noise, Haru suspected that he would just _sense_ Nagisa, he had that loud of a spirit. 

 

“Ha _ru_ ,” He whined, “I’m starving, let’s take our lunch break.”

 

The small blonde was from the sea, just like Haru, but he had been brought on land a few years prior and had adapted perfectly. If Haru didn’t know any better and hadn’t heard him sing, he’d say that the boy was born with two legs. 

 

“I have to check the salinity in one of the reef tanks and then we can.” Haru told him.

 

Nagisa fake-swooned. “Haru, I am going to _die_ of hunger.”

 

“Then go eat,” Haru shrugged, walking out of the beluga prep room and into the public space of the aquarium, “We don’t have to take our breaks at the same time.”

 

“But then I’ll die of boredom.” Nagisa said, trailing behind him despite his apparent need for food.

 

They walked through the large area dedicated to the belugas, as the cetaceans needed quite a bit of room in their pool. The only exhibit between the reef species and the belugas was the Amazon River, and the lighting dimmed as they walked through the hallway lined on either side with glass tanks. Arapaimas and catfish swam by lazily and Nagisa grinned at the sight of the piranha. 

 

“They look like Rin.” He laughed.

 

“I wouldn’t tell him that.” Haru replied, looking at the sharp-toothed fish.

 

They continued through the hallway until it opened up into a large round room and the lighting brightened up again. Tanks were scattered about the room but in the center sat a large cylinder that extended to the ceiling. It was the most impressive part of the reef exhibit and flourished with color and movement. Clown fish dipped in and out of anemones and blue tang hid behind striking corals while shrimp skittered across the bottom of the tank. Haru caught a glance of a fast mandarin dragonet darting through the water.

 

A child rushed up to them, nearly vibrating with energy and asking whether fish slept or not. Nagisa gave Haru a ‘ _I’ll handle this’_ smile and knelt down to answer the girl’s questions while Haru slipped away to check the salinity levels of the tanks.

 

Thankfully, the system for checking the levels of all the tanks had been modified to send all the information to one screen that was placed on a secluded wall of the reef room. After typing in a password, Haru tapped through each tank, making sure they were all at the desired salinity. 

 

Just as he was closing out of the program, Nagisa was standing up, apparently having answered all of the girl’s questions. She rushed off to another tank, her mother hurrying after her. 

 

Haru felt a pang of of nostalgia, remembering that when he left the sea, Ran was about that age. He hadn’t seen her or Ren since he had been on land, and he was sure that they must’ve changed a lot. He still got to talk to Makoto every once in a while, but it was difficult to coordinate times to meet and Haru found himself missing his best friend terribly. It had been nearly two and a half months since he had seen him, now that Haru thought about it.

 

When his parents had told him that he had to learn how to live a human life, that he was being taken on land, the fact that he might never see Makoto again was what he really took issue with. Of course, he loved the ocean, it was his home, but Makoto was also his home, in his own way. They had spent nearly everyday together for seventeen years and then all of a sudden they were being ripped away from one another.

 

Makoto had cried the night before Haru left. Before that, he had tried to stay positive in front of Haru, telling him what a great experience it would be. But when they were faced with the bitter reality that they were going to be separated, he broke down and sobbed, telling Haru how much he would miss him.

 

If Haru also shed a few tears, no one had to know.

 

“Hey,” Nagisa said, breaking Haru out of his train of thought. He had a small, understanding smile on his face, and Haru got the slightest feeling that Nagisa could tell what he was thinking about.

 

“Let’s go eat.” Haru said evenly in order to avoid questioning on the subject. For some reason, he just hated talking about Makoto. 

 

They didn’t bring lunch with them today, so they left the aquarium and went to a locally-owned sandwich shop across the street. They sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine and nice weather as they ate, and it wasn’t long before someone else came hurrying out of the aquarium, walking across the street without even looking, like he was invincible. 

 

Rin was flustered as he sat down next to Nagisa and arched across the table to steal half of Haru’s sandwich. Usually, Haru would’ve given a hard time, but his earlier train of thought had diminished his appetite. Run had a purple bruise peeking out of the collar of his aquarium-issued uniform t shirt and reddened lips, as well as a blush. A wicked smirk formed on Nagisa’s face.

 

“I’m glad you could join us, I know you and Sousuke had a lot of work to do in that supply closet,” He teased, poking a finger at Rin’s hickey, “Oh wow, did you get hurt while you were doing all that sorting?”

 

“Shut the fuck up,” Rin grumbled, taking a bite of his stolen sandwich.

 

“It’s a good thing that Sousuke’s parents own the aquarium, otherwise I don’t know if you two could keep disappearing to get busy.” Nagisa said lightly, enjoying making fun of Rin more than his lunch.

 

“It’s not my fault he’s horny all the time.” Rin replied, running a hand through his maroon hair. 

 

“Right, I’m sure you never initiate _anything_ with Sosuke. Especially not a few weeks ago when we were all having that bonfire on the beach and you two snuck away-“

 

Rin nearly choked on his sandwich. “How the hell do you know about that?”

 

Nagisa rolled his eyes. “I’m not that stupid, and also, you’re loud. _Oh yeah Sousuke right there don’t stop-“_

 

“I don’t sound like that.” Rin snapped, but the blush on his face indicated that he _did_ know he kind of sounded like that. “Besides, it’s not like you and Rei aren’t all over each other all the time.”

 

“You act like that’s supposed to embarrass me.” Nagisa said, “Have you _seen_ Rei? You’re lucky I dragged myself out of bed to come to work today.”

 

Rin huffed out a sigh and continued to eat his sandwich, having decided to ignore Nagisa. They sat in silence for a few moments until Rin sat up straight again and swallowed his food, seeming to have something to say.

 

“So you know how they’re building that new exhibit?” Rin asked.

 

Nagisa and Haru nodded. There had been a huge construction project going on for the last two months, something was being added onto the aquarium, and by the looks of it, it was going to be big. It had been kept a secret, and according to Sosuke, his father was getting really picky with the design of the exhibit. 

 

“Sousuke said it’s going to be a mermaid.” 

 

The table went quiet for another moment, but this time it was filled with tension.

 

Finally, Nagisa broke the silence. “So what should we do?”

 

“There’s not much we _can_ do.” Rin said, “It’s not like we can break him out and throw him back in the sea.”

 

“Him?” Haru asked.

 

“Sousuke said that he’s a male.” Rin explained, “Apparently they’ve had him for awhile now but he’s going to be in the exhibit in a few days and then the public reveal will be in two weeks.”

 

“Isn’t that kind of quick?” Nagisa questioned, his brow furrowed.

 

Rin shrugged. “The Yamazaki’s work fast.”

 

It wasn’t unheard of for aquariums to host a mermaid, but it was rare. To Haru’s knowledge, there was one in Monterey Bay and two in Valencia, but no one else had been able to capture one. 

 

“We only have a couple of months until we go back to school.” Haru said, “We can stay until then.”

 

“How are we going to watch someone like us suffer here?” Rin responded.

 

“Do you have another plan?” Haru asked. When neither Rin nor Nagisa responded, looking helplessly down at the picnic table, Haru murmured, “We can at least try to make life better for him. We might not be able to get him out but we can make it bearable.”

 

Rin slumped down, clearly unhappy with that idea but unable to come up with another solution. His fingers intertwined with each other on top of the table, tense with stress. Nagisa looked about the same, but he had less frustration in him. He just seemed to be filled with sadness when he was faced with the thought of one of their own kind being captured and put on display.

 

“I thought…” Rin said, trepidation in his voice, “I thought about telling Sousuke about me.”

 

Nagisa and Haru stared at him for a moment, surprised. Rin was staring at the table, refusing to meet their eyes. Haru was the first one to snap out of his shock, reality settling in on him.

 

“No,” He said simply, “That’s not going to help.”

 

Rin looked up at him, eyes harboring just the slightest tinge of anger. “I was already thinking about doing it before this came up, and he’s been against the capture of mers for a long time, and if he knew, it might be the push he needs to help-“

 

“You don’t know how his mind will change once you tell him.” Haru interrupted, “Who’s to say how he’ll react to finding out you’ve been keeping something this big from him? You might end up in a tank too.”

 

“Sousuke would _never_ hurt me.” Rin ground out, upset.

 

“You don’t know that.” Haru replied.

 

“Yes I-“

 

“Drop it.” Nagisa said suddenly, uncomfortable with the argument, “Let’s just…talk about it later.”

 

They finished their lunch quietly. Rin was clearly pissed off and refused to look at Haru, even going so far as to try to avoid him for the rest of the day. He typically only got that way when he knew Haru was right. 

 

The best thing to do was to let Rin wear himself out of his frustration. Chances were, he’d come back to work tomorrow more willing to be logical about the issue. It was common for Rin to flare up in anger for a while, but he’d eventually calm down.

 

The aquarium closed at five and then the employees did routine cleaning and checks before their day was done. Rin moved through his responsibilities quickly and then left without saying goodbye to anyone, causing Sosuke to come ask Nagisa and Haru where the other boy was. Nagisa had explained that Rin was in a mood and Sosuke had sighed in exasperation before rushing off to find him, not knowing the cause of his boyfriend’s irritation but being all to familiar with the effects of it. 

 

Nagisa and Haru walked home together, as they did. They lived only a block apart, so they had started the practice once Haru began working at the aquarium and had fallen into a natural rhythm ever sine. 

 

“What do you think of the merman being here?” Nagisa asked suddenly, as they rest of their walk had been quiet.

 

Hair shrugged. “It’s a shame. Sousuke’s father is ambitious though, so it doesn’t surprise me.”

 

“Do you really think Sousuke would change his mind about Rin if he knew?” Nagisa questioned, just the slightest bit of worry edging his voice, “Do you think he’d stop loving him and just see him as another exhibit in the aquarium?”

 

Haru knew what Nagisa was really asking, and it wasn’t about Rin and Sousuke. It was about him and Rei, if Rei would stop caring for him if he knew Nagisa’s secret. Would he view him as just another scientific discovery, a rare curiosity of the sea but nothing more? Would his feelings change so fast just because of what Nagisa was?

 

“I don’t know,” Haru sighed, “But we can’t take the chance.”

 

He wished he had something more optimistic to say, but the who they were, _what_ they were, had to be kept secret, even from someone so close as a dear lover. Many mer had lost their lives for revealing such secrets to those that they trusted and cared for. Haru strangely hoped that this merman had been simply captured in the ocean, because the pain of someone betraying him so fully as to sell him off to an aquarium after learning his secret would have to be heartbreaking.

 

“Yeah,” Nagisa said softly, “You’re right.”

 

As they neared his home, Nagisa gave Haru a smile that clearly had some sadness behind it before hurrying up the sidewalk and calling goodbye to Haru, telling him they’d see each other the next day at work. Haru gave him a short, silent wave in return and continued his walk.

 

Haru knew that Nagisa and Rin sometimes became frustrated at him because he couldn’t understand what it was like to keep something so huge from someone they loved so much. A part of Haru was glad he didn’t know that pain. If he did, he thought it might cause him to lose sight of the amount of danger revealing that he was mer would bring upon him. He certainly couldn’t imagine hiding something like that from a person he cared for so much. The closest example he could think of was if he was forced to keep a secret from Makoto, which he was sure would be terribly painful and confusing. 

 

But then again, Makoto was always a little too good at reading Haru. He’d probably find out the secret before Haru even got the chance to tell him. 

 

When he got home, his grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table, talking on the phone with a friend. Haru gave her a small wave before moving further into the house before finally ending up in his bedroom. He laid down on his bed for a moment and stared up at the ceiling, letting his muscles relax after a long day of work. Sometimes when he came home he felt soreness that he didn’t even notice during his day, like he didn’t have the time to pay attention to his tired muscles until now.

 

After a few minutes, he dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom, stripping down before stepping into the shower. He didn’t ever wait for the water to warm up to get in, the cool droplets reminding him of the temperatures of the depths of the ocean. However, once the water got hot, it soothed his tired body and relaxed him. 

 

He used to take baths all the time, filling up the tub with steaming water and letting himself soak until it turned tepid. Sometimes he’d throw a few pinches of salt in and will himself to transform, his aqua tail glistening with a pearlescent finish under the lights in the bathroom. He found himself doing this less and less as the years went on. It reminded himself of his home, and it only made him ache for the sea more than he already did. The shower was quick, efficient, and undeniably human.

 

He stepped out of the shower once he had scrubbed his hardest to get the dead, frozen fish smell off of him, only to smell another fish, this one much more inviting. He dressed quickly in comfier clothes and padded back into the kitchen to find his grandmother preparing mackerel. It was a good thing she enjoyed the dish almost as much as he did.

 

He stepped up beside her to help her cook, but she waved him off and told him to sit down at the table. He did, but only because he had faith in her skills as a chef.

 

She brought two plates of the grilled mackerel over a few moments later, and as they began to eat, she told him about her day, which consisted of taking a walk to the market and buying some vegetables and meet. She ran into a friend there, and they chatted for a while before she had to go to another’s friends house for lunch and a few games of cards. Sometimes it felt like Hamako had a more interesting life than Haru, even if she didn’t have a tail.

 

“How was your day?” She asked after finishing telling him about hers.

 

Without even thinking, the words, “The aquarium is opening a mer exhibit,” came out of Haru’s mouth.

 

“That’s…” His grandmother trailed off, “That’s despicable, Haru. I’m sorry.”

 

“Not your fault.” He shrugged, taking another bite of mackerel.

 

“People don’t know how to treat other forms of life in this world,” Hamako sighed.

 

Haru nodded in agreement, and she gave his hand a gentle pat. They were both never ones for talking very in depth about their feelings, but they were there to support each other nonetheless.

 

They changed the topic of conversation to something else while they finished their meal, which had been prepared perfectly. Haru had definitely gotten his cooking skills from his grandmother, and had learned a lot in the past few years, but nothing compared to her mackerel, not even when he grilled his own.

 

They did the dishes with Haru doing to washing and Hamako the drying before watching a bit of television before bed. Haru ended up retiring first, his day at work having left him near exhausted. He wished his grandmother a good night before he shuffled off to his room and brushed his teeth, staring at his own reflection before something behind him in the mirror caught his eye.

 

He turned to see the calendar hung up on the opposite bathroom wall, the photograph for the moth being a sea turtle lazily swimming through a colorful reef. What really caught his attention, though, was the phases of the moon labeled the corner of each date. With the monotony of work, he had forgotten to pay attention to them.

 

Each month, Haru and Makoto agreed to meet on the fist night of the waxing crescent, when just the slightest sliver of moon would be visible. For the past two months, they had both been unable to meet up, but there weren’t supposed to be any further complications. Haru followed his eyes along the dates, finding the one for the current day. 

 

It was a new moon.

 

He felt relief and happiness flood his body, because that meant that tomorrow was the waxing crescent, and that he would get to see Makoto. He needed something like that in his life right now, something calm and familiar and wonderful and Makoto was all of those things wrapped into one.

 

Tomorrow night, he’d swim out to sea and finally get to stretch his tail after two and a half months. He’d get to see Makoto and hear all about how Ren and Ran were doing and about the rest of the mers in their community. As long as he got to hear Makoto speak, Haru almost didn’t care what he was saying.

 

Feeling lighthearted for the first time today, Haru fell into bed and closed his eyes to a peaceful, dreamless sleep. 


	2. two

Makoto felt claustrophobic. The tank was too small, but he doubted he would feel any better if it was bigger. A prison was a prison, after all.

 

Things had been like this for a long while, though Makoto wasn’t exactly sure how much time had passed. He was kept indoors and the buildings rarely had access to anything that would tell him what day it was. The drugs the doctors administered didn’t help either, and he was usually disoriented and in a haze.

 

He knew the twins were nearby though, so he did his best to behave. Early on, just after he was first captured and put inside the first research facility, he tried being aggressive. It wasn’t really in his nature, but he was pissed off and the twins had been separated from him and he was scared out of his mind. One of the doctors pulled Ran out of the water of her tank, which was across from Makoto’s. She struggled and thrashed in his arms, panicked, because she couldn’t breath and she didn’t yet know how to change forms. 

 

Makoto had stopped being hostile immediately. It was then he realized just how much trouble they were in, what lengths these people were willing to go to get their way. Since then, they’d been transferred to other facilities, and the doctors and researchers were kinder, but Makoto still didn’t try to defy them. 

 

He couldn’t understand why Haru’s parents would want him to leave the ocean for _this_. More importantly, if humans were this cruel, why would he stay? Why wouldn’t he come back to Makoto, come back to the world he left behind?  


Makoto tried to push the thoughts aside. It wasn’t Haru’s fault he was on land, his parents brought him there. And if he _did_ like it better than the ocean, better than Makoto, then that was okay. As long as Haru was happy, then Makoto was glad to accept any life his best friend had chosen. 

 

The jealous thoughts were easier to fend off when he was still in the sea, when he didn’t know first-hand just how horrible this world could be. Now that he was imprisoned, they were nearly constant, and it was getting exhausting to push them away. 

 

The lights of the room Makoto and his siblings had been put in were suddenly flipped on, bright and artificial. Makoto closed his eyes, both to avoid the ache as he adjusted to the light and so he didn’t have to see the humans that came into the room. 

 

Once he heard Ren call out for him across the room, he opened his eyes. Looking into Ren’s tank, it was clear that he was told to get Makoto’s attention. The twins didn’t know a human language yet, and were often confused by the words being spoken in the research facility, but they were told so often to call out for Makoto that they understood the command.

 

Makoto recognized the head doctor and another man, who had been around through every research facility. He wasn’t a researcher or doctor, but he studied Makoto and his siblings with intense interest every time he was around. He had dark hair and teal eyes that shone with- if Makoto had to put a finger on it- ambition. His name was Yamazaki, or thats what everyone called him, and his was the only one Makoto bothered to learn.

 

There were other men there that Makoto didn’t recognize. They were dressed formally and were keenly watching Ren and Ran in their separate but close tanks. One of them finally turned away to look at Yamazaki. 

 

“One-hundred thousand,” he spoke.

 

Yamazaki scoffed. “Maybe for each of them.”

 

“The university wouldn’t even be owning them,” the other man argued, “We would just be renting them from you for half the year.”

 

“Which is why I’m offering you such a fair price,” Yamazaki reasoned, “Five hundred for both, two fifty for one.”

 

Price?

 

The man sighed. “How much for the older one?”

 

“Not for sale.” Yamazaki said.

 

Not for _sale?_

 

Suddenly, Makoto was intensely aware of what was going on, and what it meant. Panic flooded his brain and adrenaline started coursing through his veins. This wasn’t happening, couldn’t be happening.

 

The man looked over at his colleague, who, after a long moment, gave him a short nod. He clearly was displeased, but pulled out a small book of paper anyways and a pen and leaned over one of the tables while he wrote something down. Once he was done, he tore the paper out and handed it to Yamazaki.

 

“Pleasure doing business with you two.” He said after reading the slip of paper.

 

They were selling Ren and Ran. No, they had already sold them. Makoto’s brain was short circuiting, trying to find a way out of this situation, but none existed when he was in this tank.

 

“We’ll transport them to you later this afternoon.” Yamazaki spoke, tucking the paper into his pocket.

 

Makoto felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest, like his whole body was electrified and the too-small tank he was in was growing ever so much smaller as the moments passed by. His gaze darted around the room, noting once again that there were only four men. He might have a chance, albeit a minuscule one.

 

He cursed himself for not having a better voice, having heard of sirens that could control tens of hundreds of humans with a song. Still, he had to try. With all the strength he could gather in such a small space, he thumped his tail against the thick glass of his tank. 

 

A hairline crack appeared. 

 

The men had not noticed, too enthralled with Ren and Ran.

 

Makoto hit the glass again, and then once more, before a large piece of it shattered and water started pouring out of the tank. Makoto kept hitting the glass with his fists, with his tail, until he had made a hole late enough to fit through.

 

The men were shocked, all having turned to look at the destruction Makoto was creating. They seemed frozen to their spots, and then as soon as Makoto started pulling himself out of the rapidly emptying tank, they started to move all at once.

 

The jagged glass cut into his hands and torso and tail, but Makoto hardly noticed. His brain was echoing a chorus of _savethemsavethemsavethem._ Nothing mattered except Ren and Ran’s safety, Makoto would kill every last person in this room if it meant they didn’t have to live in tanks the rest of their lives. Even if it cost him his own life, it would be worth it.

 

Makoto was sliding out of the tank, and then he hit the floor. He didn’t take a moment to reconsider his surroundings or change into a human form because there was no time, he had to hurry _had to get rid of the threat._

 

Suddenly the doctor was rushing towards him with a syringe full of what made Makoto weak and tired. Growling, he grabbed the man’s leg and tugged him down to the ground before snatching the syringe away and crushing it in his hand. 

 

He tried to continue to claw his way to the men standing near his sibling’s tank, one of which who was screaming, and the other who was just staring at Makoto with wide eyes and trembling skin. However, the doctor tried to hold him back, grabbing onto his arms and attempting to pull him away from them.

 

Makoto’s base instincts were taking over all of a sudden, and before he knew it, his teeth were buried in the doctor’s shoulder. He ground his teeth down, hearing a sicking _crunch._ The doctor was yowling and thrashing in pain, trying to throw Makoto off, but he didn’t budge. He tasted blood on his tongue and felt disgusted, but didn’t let go.

 

And then, there was a sharp, subtle pain in his neck. Without his permission, Makoto’s jaw beganto slacken, and then he was falling away from the doctor, who was clutching his shoulder and desperately backing away from him. 

 

Makoto’s eyesight was getting blurry, and his body felt so heavy, and it was then that the sense of failure settled over him. He could see well enough that he could recognize Yamazaki standing over him, looking alarmed and holding an empty syringe.

 

_No,_ Makoto thought. Hot tears were streaming down his face, and he couldn’t breath, and there was blood everywhere, and he was never going to see his siblings again. _No._

 

Desperately, he tried to keep his eyes open, but he couldn’t. Eventually the world went black and the sound of Ren and Ran screaming at him from their tanks faded away, and the greatest ache of Makoto’s life settled into his stomach before that was also carried away into the nothingness.

 

—

 

Rin couldn’t sleep.

 

Sosuke got called back to the aquarium as soon as they got home, which was good because then Rin didn’t have to come up with a reason for why he was in such a terrible mood. However, it also meant that Sosuke wasn’t with him, helping Rin out of said terrible mood.

 

It was getting near to midnight, and he _still_ wasn’t back. Rin had texted him an hour earlier, anxiety about what possibly could’ve happened to his boyfriend eating him alive, but Sosuke had sent a short _‘be home soon’_ back. Rin supposed it had to do with the new exhibit, as Sosuke’s dad usually wanted to consult him about big things like that.

 

Rin had thought about taking a bath and stretching his tail. It had been awhile since he had changed from his human form back to a mer, and his body was starting to punish him for it. At the moment, it was just the feeling that he was on edge more often, but it would soon turn into physical aches and pain in his legs.

 

He decided against it though, worried that Sosuke might come back and he wouldn’t be able to get his legs back in time. Although, that might solve all his problems. _Surprise baby, I have a tail! I got into an argument with Haru today about telling you about this but I guess I don’t really have a choice now._

 

The discussion with Haru had been bothering him since the afternoon, and while Rin really would like to just tell Haru to fuck off and then do whatever he wanted, there was the large possibility that he was right. Rin trusted Sosuke, he wanted to tell him everything, but he was head over fucking heels for him. His judgement was nowhere near unbiased.

 

What if Sosuke thought he was nothing more than another specimen to add to the aquarium? What if he was angry at Rin, what if he felt betrayed? What if he stopped loving Rin because of the gills and scales and secrets?

 

Rin didn’t know if he could bear it.

 

A couple years ago, when Rin started working at the aquarium and subsequently starting falling for Sosuke, his mother had looked at him with soft, sad eyes and told him to be careful. She said that they were sirens, and the stronger their song, the harder they fell in love. She told him that when his father died it was almost too much for her, that if she didn’t have Rin and Gou to carry on for, she’d certainly be dead. Heartbreak was a dangerous thing for the mer. 

 

Sometimes, Rin wished he had better heeded her words. The first few months of figuring out he and Sosuke’s relationship was wild and amazing and caution was thrown to the wind like Rin had nothing to worry about. He was just _so_ caught up in Sosuke that he forgot to even make an escape plan. He didn’t teach himself how to tuck away his feelings in their own compartment in his heart and lock them in there. He could never contain his love for Sosuke. 

 

He considered calling Gou and talking to her about it, but he doubted she would understand why he would want to bring an outsider, a human, into their world. It was difficult for people who had never fallen for a human to comprehend why any other mer would. She was a supportive sibling of course, and thought Sosuke was a good person, but most other mer that Rin knew looked at he and Sosuke’s relationship as just a temporary thing, just Rin seeing what humans had to offer before he returned to the sea.

 

He didn’t think he could ever permanently go back to the ocean, though he’d never told anyone that. They’d just think he was crazy, and maybe he was, but a big part of his life was here, on the land. 

 

Nagisa perhaps understood what Rin was going through. Rei was human, and he didn’t have any clue that Nagisa was mer. Then again, the chances of Rei putting Nagisa in an aquarium tank and then never looking at him again were low.

 

And it wasn’t that Rin thought that Sosuke didn’t love him back, or would stop loving him if he knew, or that he would only see Rin as another animal. There was just always a risk, and the mer were a cautious people. Those who had relationships with humans were still looked down by many. It was viewed as them being too risky for the sake of their own feelings and not taking into account the safety of the group.

 

Rin always found it ironic how the mer thought of being emotional as something bad. They tried to keep the ideal that the humans had created, of a cold, cruel siren, driven to kill men for the safety of the group. The truth was that the mer were perhaps even more passionate than the humans, that they formed stronger bonds with the people they loved. They had been told since they were young to push their emotions down, to repress everything that made them feel _too_ much. 

 

It didn’t really end up working with Rin.

 

He heard the front door of the apartment open, then close. Sosuke was home. Rin felt some of the tension he didn’t realize he was holding onto dissipate. He still had the issue of whether he was going to tell Sosuke and when, but just having him back made Rin feel a little better.

 

The door to the bedroom, which Rin had not entirely closed, opened and Sosuke padded inside. He could be so quiet for someone of his stature, and at the beginning of their relationship, he often accidentally snuck up on Rin.

 

Sosuke slipped out of his work clothes and into a pair of sweatpants without saying a word. He probably thought Rin was asleep, but Rin always had a difficult time sleeping without Sosuke home, so maybe he was just being quiet. 

 

He slid into bed, snuggling close and pressing a kiss to Rin’s shoulder.

 

“Sorry for being out so late.” He murmured, wrapping an arm around Rin, “I didn’t know it would take so long.”

 

“It’s okay.” Rin replied, brushing his fingers against the back of Sosuke’s hand. 

 

“It was about the merman.” Sosuke told him, “I got to see it- or him, I guess.”

 

Rin rolled over to face his boyfriend, interest piqued. From the inflection in his voice, he didn’t sound absolutely thrilled that he got to see a mer, something so rare in the human world. The look on his face was hard to read, like Sosuke was trying to figure out how he felt as well.

 

“What was he like?” Rin asked.

 

“He was…” Sosuke trailed off for a moment, “He was big. Bigger than I thought he would be. He got injured, so my dad said that the opening of the exhibit would have to be moved back.”

 

“How’d he get injured?” Rin questioned, concern blossoming in his chest. He had heard that the mer in other aquariums weren’t treated with the greatest amount of kindness. 

 

“I guess he broke the glass of his tank and tried to drag himself out of it. He’s got stitches everywhere.” Sosuke explained.

 

“Did he just freak out for no reason?”

 

Sosuke shrugged. “Dad said that he’s kind of aggressive. He bit the doctor that was studying him and apparently tore up his shoulder.”

 

“What do you think?” Rin asked quietly.

 

“I don’t know.” Sosuke said, looking past Rin, to the wall behind him. “He seemed pretty gentle, but they put him on a bunch of sedatives after he got hurt. I don’t think he even noticed me standing there looking at him.”

 

Rin gazed at Sosuke, who still wasn’t looking at him. The fingers of the arm that was slung around Rin were now tracing little patterns on his back, and even with such troubling news about the mer, he found himself relaxing under Sosuke’s touch.

 

“I missed you.” Rin said, knowing that he really shouldn’t be changing the subject, because Sosuke might have more information to offer, but part of Rin (most of Rin) didn’t really want to talk about the mer anymore.

 

A small smile graced Sosuke’s lips, and his gaze returned to Rin. 

 

“I was only gone a few hours.” He replied teasingly, but there was affection in his voice.

 

“I still missed you. I was getting worried.” Rin told him, throwing on a pout just for good measure.

 

“ _Mhm,_ sorry,” Sosuke said, leaning down to kiss the corner of Rin’s mouth, “I missed you too.”

 

Rin pressed close to Sosuke’s chest and told himself to cherish this feeling, of Sou coming home to him. Sometimes it felt like he couldn’t get enough of Sosuke, like he was drowning in him (which was funny because Rin had gills) and he still wanted more. 

 

“I love you.” Rin nearly whispered, wanting to just stay like this forever, just the two of them in this bed. 

 

“Love you too.” Sosuke murmured into Rin’s hair.

 

Even with all the turmoil in his head, even with the mer in the aquarium and the decision of whether to tell Sosuke the secret or not, even with the knowledge that everything was going to get more complicated, Rin didn’t have much trouble falling asleep. Once Sosuke’s breathing evened out to something slow and rhythmic, Rin felt his eyelids getting heavy and everything around him felt warm and safe. He slipped into sleep easily, and no dreams of scales or fins or mer trapped in glass prisons plagued him.

 

——-

 

Makoto drifted back to consciousness in a new tank. He knew, because the other one wouldn’t of been holding any water. His self-inflicted wounds hurt even with all the drugs coursing through his system, and lazily, his gaze drifted down to see stitched up cuts along his torso and tail. With great effort, he brought his hands into his line of vision, onto to see that they had also been torn up worse than anything, stitches zigzagging this way and that across his palms.

 

And then, as if the universe was not being cruel enough, Makoto’s mind became clear enough, just for a moment, and he remembered his siblings. He tried to dart around to search for them, but his body was sluggish and felt so very heavy. 

 

Slowly, he observed his surroundings and gathered that he was in a much larger tank than before, though it was still quite barren. Wherever he was, the lights had been turned out, and he could only make out the shapes of objects in the room. Makoto called the names of his siblings weakly, desperately.

 

He didn’t stop until his voice had gone from yelling to wailing to screaming, and only when his felt like his vocal chords were going to tear did he stop. A sense of complete loneliness and fear settled over him. Feeling as if his heart had just been torn out, Makoto curled into himself and sobbed.

 

None of this would’ve happened if he just would’ve gone home when he promised. He had spent a bit more time with Haru than he had told his parents and his siblings he was going to, and then as he was heading back to his family, he was caught in a net and hauled aboard a boat, thrashing and panicked. 

 

That was the first time he saw Yamazaki. He was satisfied with his catch, but the men with him wanted to wait a little longer and see if any other mer came along. They said that they thought the mermaids could be like dolphins, traveling in pods. That wasn’t right, but it didn’t change the fact that Ren and Ran were sent to retrieve Makoto, and were subsequently captured. 

 

Makoto remembered how scared they looked on the deck of that boat, clinging on to each other. That fear never did leave their eyes, all throughout their captivity. Their only comfort had been that their older brother was there with them, and they were still young enough to think Makoto could fix anything.

 

And now, that had been ripped away from them too.

 

Makoto wished that he was worth more dead than alive, wished that they would just kill him. He wasn’t so stupid as to think he was getting out of this, mer who had been captured were never rescued. Losing one mer was better than risking any more. This was a life sentence, and if Makoto was lucky, the humans taking care of him would be negligent and he’d get sick and die.

 

It was a dark thought. Makoto hadn’t had such things enter his mind until he had been dragged onto that boat. 

 

He wondered what his parents would think when Makoto and his siblings never came home. It had already been so long, surely they were already panicked. Would Haru worry when Makoto never met him the night after a new moon again? Would they look for Makoto, or abandon any hope of ever finding him? Would he just become a lost son, a forgotten friend?

 

Part of Makoto hoped so. He didn’t want to be a burden to his parents or his friends, especially Haru. Even if that meant them pushing away the memories of him and abandoning him, leaving him alone in this tank. 

 

He reached out, letting his fingers brush against the wall of the tank. It was clear, and yet, such a stark barrier between him and everything else. The sea, his friends, his family, they all were behind the glass, and he would never see them again. This was life now, trapped in this prison, drugged into passiveness, being gawked at by humans who had come to see such a rare creature. 

 

Makoto stared out into the darkened room he had been put in. It wasn’t bright enough to make anything out, and he didn’t really care anyways. He’d find out soon enough what the room looked like and who was taking care of him. Miserably, he let himself float in the water and waited for morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought :)


	3. three

Sosuke caught himself pausing his work, staring at the merman in the tank. Pulling himself out of his trance, he blamed his spaciness on his lack of sleep and not on the fact that he was in a room with one of the rarest creatures on Earth. It was just the two of them, as Sosuke’s father didn’t want anyone else seeing the merman, and his father was preoccupied with handling some business that had to do with moving the date of the opening of the exhibit. 

 

He had gotten a call from his father early that morning, waking him up from his peaceful slumber. He had wanted Sosuke to get down to the aquarium early and be the first one there, so he could keep an eye on the merman exhibit. Sleepily, he had pressed a kiss against Rin’s temple and then had gotten up, quickly getting ready for work and writing a note to Rin before he left. 

 

The note hadn’t stopped the irritable phone call he got half an hour later- _You should’ve woken me up and I would’ve gone with you!-_ but it eased any worry than Rin had about him being gone. Rin could always come up with the most creative stories of how Sosuke could’ve been hurt or gone missing or just left him, tired of the relationship. Even though the first two were pretty ridiculous, Sosuke couldn’t understand how Rin could even imagine the third one. He was so infatuated with Rin that the thought of being alone or with someone else was too absurd to entertain. 

 

Sosuke wondered if the merman loved someone, if the species had the capability to love. Though he looked strong and powerful, the merman didn’t seem violent, but perhaps Sosuke was just being naive. He had attacked a doctor after all, but maybe he was just scared. His green eyes certainly didn’t appear to hold any malice in them, but maybe his aggressive tendencies were softened by the drugs that were coursing through his system. 

 

Speaking of the drugs, it was getting to be around nine in the morning, which meant the merman was due for his second round of drugs. Sosuke had been avoiding the issue for fifteen minutes now, busying himself with other things, but he was running out of other jobs to do. His father had shown him how to administer the drugs last night, when he had carefully slipped inside the tank and dispensed a syringe full of anesthetic to calm him and help with the pain from his wounds and antibiotics to prevent the cuts from getting infected. The merman hadn’t reacted, but it was still a daunting task.

 

Sosuke had put the idea of having to administer the medicine out of his mind last night, purposely not telling Rin that he had to do it. It would only lead to him worrying over it, and he would’ve been up all night. 

 

Sighing, Sosuke approached the ladder that led to the deck surrounding one half of the tank. He supposed that he might as well get it over with, and if it was really dangerous, his father wouldn’t have him doing it. He stripped off his shirt before he began climbing the ladder, having already worn swimming trunks with the knowledge that he’d have to do this. 

 

He reached the deck, and took the syringe out of the cooler resting there. His father had left it there earlier that morning before taking off to his meeting. Sosuke had put it at the edge of the deck, where he could reach it from the water. 

 

He could see the merman floating halfway down into the tank, hovering there almost lifelessly. Without allowing himself much more thought about it, Sosuke slipped into the water as quietly as possible in an attempt to not scare the merman. Either it worked, or the creature was so out of it that he couldn’t even recognize what was going on.

 

Sosuke dove down, trying to keep his mind off the thought that he was in the water with a fucking merman, a character in fairytales and myths but not reality, not until now. He reached the merman within a few seconds and only hesitated a little bit before he reached out and grasped his bicep.

 

He didn’t know what he was expecting, whether it was scales or slime or something else, but he was surprised to find that the arm just felt like human skin, like skin under water. It was incredibly familiar and it made the whole thing even stranger.

 

Kicking towards the surface and hauling the limp merman along with him, Sosuke finally broke the surface, but was careful to be gentle and not move too sharply. He pulled the merman towards the deck only a few feet away, where the syringe rested. 

 

Once he reached the deck, Sosuke adjusted his grip on the merman, wrapping an arm around his chest to better support him and also provide Sosuke with enough protection to get out of the tank in case he did freak out. With the other hand, he grabbed the syringe and uncapped it, thankful for his swimming experience as he treaded water. 

 

Sosuke found the vein in the merman’s neck where the needle was supposed to be inserted, and carefully, he pressed the sharp tip against the skin there until it broke through, just a tiny bit. 

 

Suddenly, the merman seized up, alarmed by the small, but sharp pain. His green eyes were full of fear as he looked over his shoulder at Sosuke.

 

Sosuke didn’t know why he did it, but started talking, trying to sooth the merman, even though he felt like he was probably going to get fucking eaten.

 

“It’s okay,” He told the merman softly, pushing down the plunger of the syringe and administering the drugs, “I’m not here to hurt you, it’s okay.”

 

Of course, the creature couldn’t understand him, but Sosuke hoped he could read the intent in his voice. Even if he didn’t, his wide eyes soon began to slip back to to their lazy, half-lidded gaze as Sosuke emptied out the rest of the syringe and pulled it out of the merman’s skin. 

 

Gently, he let go of the merman, watching him drift back to his original spot in the middle of the tank, like the whole think hadn’t just happened. Feeling shaky and confused and lucky to be alive, Sosuke hauled himself out of the tank, onto the deck, and hurried down the ladder, throwing away the syringe in a special container made for them.

 

He was soaking wet, but had remembered to bring a towel, and dried off before pulling his t shirt back on. Glancing at the time, he realized that only fifteen minutes had past in what felt like a lifetime. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, closing his eyes and grounding himself. People were going to be here in forty-five minutes. He didn’t have time to ponder on what had just happened.

 

Taking a last glance at the merman who was still floating in the tank, Sosuke left the exhibit and locked the door behind him to keep any other employees or customers out. He’d have to come check on the merman throughout the day and give him food, but the hardest part was over.

 

Or so he thought.

 

As he was on his way to the locker rooms, where they kept wetsuits and extra uniform t-shirts, and where Sosuke had left clothes to change into, Rin hunted him down, looking pissed off. Well, more pissed off than usual. 

 

“Where were you?” He questioned, voice full of indignation, “I looked fucking everywhere!”

 

Sosuke grabbed his hand as he passed Rin, pulling him along towards the locker rooms. If Rin was going to be badgering him, he might as well do it at a close distance instead of across the aquarium. 

 

“I had to do some work in the merman exhibit.” Sosuke said, “I left you a note.”

 

“For an hour and a half? I’ve been here since eight and- Why is your hair wet?” 

 

Sosuke led Rin into the locker room, which was empty save for the two of them. Good, the whole aquarium staff didn’t need to be hearing about the mermaid. 

 

“I had to give him some meds.” Sosuke shrugged, rummaging through a bag he had brought with him containing an extra shirt, boxers, and shorts.

 

Rin was silent for a moment, staring at Sosuke with a confused expression. Sosuke pretended to not understand why this would be baffling to Rin, but to be honest, he was puzzled himself as to what he had just done.

 

“So you-“ Rin said, piecing everything together, “You got in the water with it?”

 

“It’s a him, Rin.”

 

“Don’t avoid the fucking question, Sou.”

 

Sosuke sighed.

 

“Yeah,” He told Rin, taking off his shirt, “I had to get in the water with him.”

 

Rin stared at him, stock-still. “And you were alone with him?”

 

“Yeah,” Sosuke repeated, changing his trunks for his boxers and shorts. 

 

There was silence in the locker room, tense and palpable. Sosuke figured that this was going to be a fight now, and probably a fight later.

 

“You got in the water with an animal you know _nothing_ about, aware of the fact that it was dangerous to do, and you didn’t have _anyone_ else in the room?” Rin questioned, getting closer to Sosuke with each word.

 

“Yes Rin, I did, and I’m perfectly fine, so there’s nothing to worry about-“

 

“That’s not the point!” Rin interrupted, “You put your life on the line for no reason, knowing that merman could be aggressive. You could’ve died, Sosuke.”

 

“That’s a little dramatic.” Sosuke grumbled, knowing that Rin rarely used his full name unless he was pissed off or turned on, and he didn’t look very turned on.

 

Sosuke moved to pull on his t shirt.

 

“Don’t,” Rin growled out.

 

Or maybe Sosuke wasn’t a very good judge of anger versus desire.

 

He didn’t put the shirt on and stood there, gazing at his boyfriend who was very clearly seething with rage but maybe also with something else, with something more. He stepped close to Sosuke and glared up at him, eyes burning.

 

“Promise me you’ll never do something so fucking stupid again.” He hiss-whispered, “Promise me you’ll never put yourself in that kind of danger again.”

 

“You know I can’t-“

 

“Promise. Me.”

 

Sosuke sighed, for what felt like the five hundredth time that day, and it was only nine thirty-five. 

 

“I promise.”

 

And then Rin’s arms were around his neck, pulling him down close and they were kissing and Sosuke was pressing Rin up against the wall, having dropped his shirt somewhere. Rin’s hands were everywhere, moving over Sosuke’s chest and shoulders and down his back, his nails digging in when Sosuke moved his lips away from Rin’s and started licking down his throat, latching onto the junction of his shoulder and neck.

 

“So _suke_ ,” Rin moaned out breathily, and that was the way he liked to hear his name coming from Rin’s mouth, just like that.

 

He resigned himself to the fact that they were going to be at least five minutes late today, even though they both got to work early.

 

—

 

 

Haru’s days at work didn’t usually drag on, due to him enjoying what he was doing for the most part. He got to be around the water, and marine life, and usually only had to talk to a few visitors of the aquarium per day, which was tolerable. 

 

But today was the longest day of his life.

 

It had begun with his morning walk to work with Nagisa, who talked about Rei for half of the way there, but that was easy enough to tune out. However, the rest of the walk had been dedicated to asking Haru about why he was acting strangely. Haru had managed to shrug off the tirade of questions, believing that it would only be worse if Nagisa knew he was meeting Makoto later that night. 

 

Once he got to work, Rin and Sousuke oh-so-secretively slipped away into the locker room because they had the sex drives of rabbits (Nagisa’s words, not Haru’s). That didn’t really effect Haru so much, but when Rin finally came back from his tryst, looking flustered and a little pissed off, it meant he had to hear about it. 

 

Apparently Sousuke got in the tank, alone, with the mer this morning to give him some medicine. Rin found this to be dangerous and stupid and a few other choice adjectives. Haru agreed, but he also was of the opinion that Sousuke was probably going to continue doing whatever he wanted to. He didn’t say that to Rin, though, because it would’ve just sparked another argument.

 

Thankfully, Nagisa started teasing Rin about all the places in the aquarium he and Sousuke have had sex, which distracted Rin from getting Haru’s opinion on Sousuke being idiotically fearless. 

 

The rest of the day had gone relatively smoothly, even though the time dragged. Haru did some checks on water levels and hung around the belugas after feeding them. He didn’t have to talk to many visitors. Though it was a Saturday, the crowds weren’t as big as they usually were on weekends. Haru figured he’d better enjoy it while he could, because once they opened the mermaid exhibit, there would hardly be room to breathe. 

 

Finally, after what felt like a century, the workday had ended. Haru had to once again endure Nagisa’s bombardment of questions about why he was asking strangely. He just said that he didn’t have a clue what Nagisa was talking about. 

 

Really, he didn’t know why he was being so secretive about meeting with Makoto. It wasn’t like Nagisa wasn’t aware that tried to see each other as often as possible. For some reason, Haru just felt like he wanted to keep it private, at least for the time being. 

 

He left Nagisa without any answers to his questions and continued on his walk home. He had to force himself not to quicken his step, not to hurry back to his house. It didn’t matter how fast he made it back, he still had to wait for the sun to go down. More waiting was going to be hell, but it would be worth it. 

 

When he entered the house, it was quiet. There was a note on the table from Hamako, telling Haru that she was going to dinner with a few friends and that there was food in the fridge. There was a well-drawn dolphin next to the words, and Haru showed a hint of a smile at it. 

 

He cooked himself dinner and ate, which gave him something to do and lessened the amount of time he would have to wait to walk to the beach. Still, once he had finished his food and washed the dishes, he still felt anxious. Usually he didn’t go until just after sunset to leave, because by the time he made it to the beach it would be dark. 

 

However, after twenty minutes of meandering around the house and doing a whole lot of nothing, Haru couldn’t stand waiting any longer. The moment he saw the sky turning an orangey pink as sunset began, he was out the door. He could always wait at the beach for it to finally get dark, and the water would probably help ease his nerves. 

 

His pace picked up gradually as he neared the beach, slow steps turning into a jog. As his feet left hard pavement and met soft sand, he breathed a sigh of relief. The endless, slowly shifting blue just a few yards away was always calming to him. It welcomed him home, familiar and comforting. 

 

There were a few other people on the beach watching the sunset, but Haru found himself much less jittery now. Patience returned to him with the smell of salt and the sound of waves gently lapping at the shoreline. He hadn’t been here in such a long time, it was like he had almost forgotten that the ocean was home.

 

The sun slowly lowered into the horizon, its light reflecting on the water in shades of gold and orange. The sky was cloudless, and stars began to twinkle as the last sliver of sun slipped out of sight. It only took a few more moments for the other people at the beach to leave, having seen their fill. As soon as the last couple was gone, Haru stood, kicking off his shoes and stripping his shirt. 

 

As he stepped towards the waves, a strange sense of nervousness came over him. It seemed so stupid, he was only going to meet Makoto, his best friend, after all. There was no reason for him be anxious about seeing someone who knew him better than he knew himself. Shaking off the odd feeling as nothing to be worried about, Haru walked into the sea.

 

—

 

Rin had slipped the key out of Sousuke’s pocket while he was blowing him in the locker room. He had actually been really pissed off about Sou getting in the tank alone with the mer, but the opportunity to have a way into that room had presented itself and overrode his need to bitch Sousuke out. Getting off before work had been a nice bonus, but it was mostly a distraction. 

 

He didn’t like manipulating Sousuke like that, didn’t like having to sneak around him like he had something to hide. Well, more to hide than scales and a tail. It was unnatural and made Rin feel tense and guilty. Rin loved Sousuke more than anything, so it seemed like exploitation when he wasn’t being completely honest with him. 

 

Now Rin was preparing to do something he hadn’t had to do for years. He sat in their bedroom, listening to Sousuke wash the dishes from the dinner Rin had cooked. Running his thumb over the smooth, flat side of the key, he told himself that this was necessary, that he had to know what kind of condition that the mer was in. He might not get a chance like this again. 

 

Taking a deep breath, he stood up from the bed and slid the key into his pocket. He forced down the fear that he would be too rusty after being out of practice for so long as he walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He relaxed his body language and leaned against the counter, watching Sousuke for a few moments. He looked up from the dishes for just a moment, his eyes flicking to Rin’s with recognition and warmth. Rin pushed away the wave of _this is wrong_ that was rolling over him.

 

“I have to go over to my mom’s place.” Rin told him, putting that lilt into his voice, forcing Sousuke to believe the words, “I’ll be back later.”

 

“Okay,” Sousuke replied, not pausing in washing the dishes, like nothing was wrong. Like it was normal for Rin to go over to his mother’s house at nine P.M. without giving any reason. “Need me to go with?”

 

“No, it’s not any thing important.” Rin said, forcing more of that magical persuasion into his words.

 

“ _Mhm_ , okay,” Sousuke said, glancing up again and pausing in his washing.

 

Rin felt sick. Sousuke’s eyes were half lidded, like he had just had one too many shots of rum and the lazy smile only seemed make him seem more drunk. It was more relaxed and happy than Rin had seen him in weeks, and the knowledge that the shift in mood had been forced upon him, without his knowledge or permission, made Rin feel like he was the worst person alive.

 

“Love you,” Sousuke murmured, and it was like the words were dripping in honey.

 

“I love you too.” Rin nearly choked out, holding back the ‘ _so much’_ he nearly included.

 

Instead, he turned around and tried not to hurry out of the kitchen, even though it didn’t matter. Sousuke believed that he was going to his mom’s place, he didn’t even have a choice to decide whether or not he thought it was the truth. Rin just had to get out of here, out of their home, out of these vulnerable spaces.

 

He made it out of the apartment, and then managed to not sprint out of the building as he left. The fresh air did little to comfort him, though. They lived too far away from the beach to smell the saltwater, so his mer instincts were only confused, putting him even more on edge. Huffing out a sigh, he started walking towards the aquarium.

 

When he was young, everyone told him having a powerful, persuasive voice was an incredible gift. Most mer could charm at least a few men into distraction long enough for their ships to crash and sink, but Rin could force an idea, a belief, into someone’s head. He do more than trick fishermen into thinking that the mer they caught a glimpse of was a dolphin, he could make them forget their own names. 

 

Sometimes he wondered what he would’ve turned into if he hadn’t ever left the sea. He used to be so proud of his voice and had boasted of what he could do with it, but then he met Sousuke. Manipulating him made Rin feel disgusting, and his gift soon turned into the thing Rin hated the most about himself. He realized that to humans he would be seen as a monster and to the mer, he was only a weapon.

 

And what would Sousuke do if he knew Rin could make people to act against their own will? How could he _not_ be revolted? 

 

Rin shrank into his hoodie, trying to block out the intrusive thoughts. It wasn’t fair that his DNA was interfering with his relationship, making him question everything. Quickies in the locker room weren’t going to be able to hold their relationship together for long, not with Rin’s lies weighing heavy on him.

 

As he neared the aquarium, which was built closer to the sea than the apartment building, Rin’s nerves relaxed, but his melancholy mood stayed. It was strange to think that technically breaking into his own place of work made him feel less on edge than being in his own home did. What was once sacred and safe was now infected with Rin’s voice, his lies and manipulation.

 

He paced up to the front door of the aquarium and gave a wave to the security camera perched above it. The door clicked, unlocking, and Rin pushed inside. Seijuro, Gou’s almost-boyfriend, was working security tonight. He was a mer, like them, but he had been born and raised on land, and connected better with his human side than they did. Rin had spoken to him earlier in the day and told him he would be coming by tonight. Seijuro didn’t ask any questions, they both knew what Rin was after. 

 

The aquarium was dark, and the only sound came from the barely-there bubbling of filters in the tanks. It was a wild contrast to the noise the crowds moving through the exhibits could make, and even before and after business hours, Nagisa was always making some kind of racket. 

 

The only illumination to Rin’s path was the faint blue light coming from some of the tanks, but he knew the aquarium like the back of his hand. His pace was slow as he walked towards the room housing the mer, not too excited to see one of his own kept in such circumstances. He had to know that the mer was at least getting adequate care. Rin couldn’t save him, but he could do the most to make his living conditions as comfortable as possible.

 

Finally, he arrived in front of the room, the only one without a security camera in it for fear that the video might somehow get out to the public before the exhibit opened. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Rin retrieved the key from his pocket and slipped it into the lock, turning it until he felt it it click open. 

 

He gently pushed the door open and then stepped inside, trying to be quiet enough to not scare the mer but loud enough not to sneak up on him. Rin closed the door behind himself and turned his gaze to the huge tank in the middle of the room. A figure floated inside, unable to be clearly seen with such poor lighting.

 

Rin walked closer, trying to get a better look at the wounds that Sousuke had told him the mer had retained. The mer was floating on the far side of the tank, facing away from him and making it impossible for Rin to make out any defining features. He was still except for his slow, even breathing, so Rin assumed his was drugged.

 

Rounding the tank, Rin took in his damaged torso, stitched up here and there. His tail, which held the slightest green tint in the darkness, had presumably been protected from any cuts because of his tough scales. His chest and abdomen only had soft, easily damaged skin to defend him. The palms of his hands were by far the worst, stitches going in every direction. Rin moved his gaze from the mer’s hands to his face.

 

It took him a moment, just a few seconds. He hadn’t seen him in years, after all. Confusion was followed by realization which was then chased by a deep sense of dread. Rin felt frozen, stuck there staring, waiting for his eyes to adjust and reveal that his mind was playing tricks on him. But it never happened, and the mer just stared through him with half-lidded eyes, like Rin wasn’t even there.

 

The terror seemed to last forever, but as soon as it subsided it was followed by a deep sense of urgency. He had to tell someone, had to figure out how this had happened. Pressing his hand against the glass and promising to be back soon, Rin raced out of the room, out of the aquarium, and towards Haru’s home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter! I apologize for taking such a long time to update, my life has been really busy lately and this chapter was difficult for me to find a way to finish. I wanted to thank everyone for all of the kind comments on the last chapter, they made me so happy. Let me know what you think of this chapter! :) I also wrote a little bit of another AU for Free! so if anyone would be interested in reading it let me know!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! I love Free! but I've never written for it before. This idea has been in my head for a while so I finally wanted to get it down. Let me know what you think! :)
> 
> edit: I changed the title because I realized it's the title of a popular makoharu fic, but my titles usually have nothing to to with the my stories anyways so it's not a huge shift!
> 
> the phrase 'dead in the water' refers to an inability to move so i thought it kind of fit and also i just liked it so yeah I hope you guys don't mind too much!


End file.
